Warner Bros. Interactive Launches Batman: Arkham City

The wait is finally over for fans to don the Batsuit again! Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced that Batman: Arkham City, the critically acclaimed and highly anticipated videogame developed by Rocksteady Studios, is now available at retailers in North America for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system.

BURBANK, Calif. – October 18, 2011 – The wait is finally over for fans to don the Batsuit again! Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced that Batman: Arkham City, the critically acclaimed and highly anticipated videogame developed by Rocksteady Studios, is now available at retailers in North America for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. The Games for Windows version will be available beginning Nov. 15, 2011.

Batman: Arkham City builds upon the intense, atmospheric foundation of Batman: Arkham Asylum, sending players flying through the expansive Arkham City – five times larger than the game world in Batman: Arkham Asylum – the new maximum security “home” for all of Gotham City’s thugs, gangsters and insane criminal masterminds. Featuring an incredible Rogues Gallery of Gotham City’s most dangerous criminals including Catwoman, The Joker, The Riddler, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, The Penguin, Mr. Freeze and many others, the game allows players to genuinely experience what it feels like to be The Dark Knight delivering justice on the streets of Gotham City.

“Batman: Arkham City builds upon the critical and commercial success of Batman: Arkham Asylum and firmly solidifies the Arkham brand as a triple-A action adventure franchise,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Rocksteady has developed a game that includes all the makings of a blockbuster – immersive story, memorable characters and outstanding gameplay, and we are very proud to bring the game to players around the world.”

"Getting to work in the Batman universe again has been a privilege for us at Rocksteady Studios. We have worked tirelessly to take Batman from the Asylum into the heart of Gotham City and to deliver the game The Dark Knight deserves,” said Sefton Hill, Game Director at Rocksteady Studios. “The response so far has been phenomenal and we can't wait for everyone to experience becoming The Batman swooping through the streets of Gotham."

Set inside the heavily fortified walls of a sprawling district in the heart of Gotham City, Batman: Arkham City introduces a brand-new story that draws together a new, all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe, as well as a vast range of new and enhanced gameplay.

The game was written in collaboration with Paul Dini, Batman author and five-time Emmy Award winner whose credits include Lost season one and Batman: The Animated Series, and features the incredible voice talent of Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy. Both reprise their roles as The Joker and Batman respectively. Stana Katic of the popular series Castle joins the cast as the voice of Talia al Ghul.

Fans looking for the ultimate Batman: Arkham City package can purchase the Batman: Arkham City Collector’s Edition, which includes extensive bonus content, including a custom Batman statue produced by Kotobukiya, a collectible art book, early access to the Iceberg Lounge Challenge Map and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns skin, Batman: Arkham City – The Album featuring original music by top artists and a bonus DC Universe animated original movie, Batman: Gotham Knight.

Two official versions of a strategy guide for Batman: Arkham City will be offered by BradyGames – a Signature Series and a Limited Edition. In addition, an iOS Map App for locating collectibles and a series of official strategy videos will be available through Brady's iOS Strategy Feed app and through the Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for Xbox 360.

Players can also look forward to the Nightwing Bundle Pack on Nov. 1 and the Robin Bundle Pack scheduled for release on Nov. 22. The downloadable content will be available on Xbox LIVEMarketplace for 560 Microsoft Points and PlayStation®Network for $6.99.

Batman: Arkham City is based on DC Comics’ core Batman license and rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB. Fans can visit www.batmanarkhamcity.com for more information about the game.

About DC EntertainmentDC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash, etc.), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables, etc.) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating across Warner Bros. and Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment, and interactive games. Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world.

About Warner Bros. Interactive EntertainmentWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, is a premier worldwide publisher, developer, licensor and distributor of entertainment content for the interactive space across all current and future platforms, including console, handheld and PC-based gaming for both internal and third party game titles.

About Rocksteady Studios LtdRocksteady Studios is a multi-award winning videogame developer based in London, England. Located in a spacious, purpose built converted factory, with full motion capture and audio studio capabilities, Rocksteady is an energetic company formed by a core team of senior industry professionals. This creates an ideal balance of drive, talent, proven methods, experience and cutting edge technology to make AAA games. Now employing over 90 people, Rocksteady's mission is to be a highly professional, efficient company whose purpose is to make great games, and have happy and healthy team members. This philosophy is the heart and soul of the company. Rocksteady received the coveted ‘studio of the year’ award at the 2009 VGA awards.